The projects include improvements to the historic barn at the Phelps-Hatheway House and Gardens and recognition of previously unmarked graves at a town cemetery.

Connecticut Landmarks, which operates the Phelps-Hatheway House, will receive $8,000 for improvements to its 19th century English-style barn.

Cindy Cormier, education and historic sites operations manager for Connecticut Landmarks, said the Zak Fund has been very generous to the Phelps-Hatheway House in the past, providing funding for improvements to the long, decorative fence at the front of the property, and now the barn.

“There are double doors through two sides, so the wood on the floor in the middle, in a high traffic area, is worn and uneven,” she said. “The large door at the back of the barn also wasn’t closing properly because the wood has weathered and warped.”

These repairs will be made, as well as improvements to the stairs.

“Because this space is used for large events like the May Market and Suffield on the Green, meetings and school groups, we want to make sure the stairs are more substantial as well, so it’s easier to get in and out of the barn,” Cormier said.

There are also plans for a new educational component, including a large photo panel.

“We’re not only fixing the barn but we want to tell the story of farming in the Tobacco Valley,” Cormier said. “People often think of Suffield as a village of beautiful homes, but the homes were supported by agriculture.”

Connecticut Landmarks teamed up with the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, which is currently researching and cataloging all of the barns in the state. Renard Thompson of Bring Back Barns of Colebrook, Conn., will be doing the work on the barn to make sure it is restored with historical accuracy.

Cormier said Connecticut Landmarks is grateful for the support of the Amiel P. Zak Fund.

“How fortunate this community is to have this public service fund from which to draw for important community projects,” she said.

The fund is also awarding $2,500 to Suffield Academy for a commemorative headstone to acknowledge the unmarked graves of 18th and 19th century African Americans. Students in American studies teacher Bill Sullivan’s class conducted research and learned that slaves as well as free African Americans were buried in the northwest corner of the center cemetery in the middle of town. The headstone will recognize the unmarked graves and tell the forgotten portion of Suffield’s history.

The grant will also pay for the installation of an interpretive sign explaining the history of the 18th, 19th and 20th century gravestones in the cemetery, including four stones created by J.G. Batterson, owner of New England Granite Works and a founder of the Travelers Insurance Co.

Other projects funded through the Zak Fund include an irrigation system and public address equipment for the Suffield High School athletic field; an inventory-assessment-removal-replacement and maintenance program for hundreds of trees along Main Street; installation of four dugouts at the Bruce Park athletic fields, support for the Crossroads Food Pantry, support for the ITN/North Central Connecticut ride service, and replacement of the welcome sign and landscaping at Bruce Park.

Since 2002, more than $639,000 has been awarded through 77 grants handed out by the Amiel P. Zak Public Service Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.